Thursday, April 19, 2007

Titus

Channel surfing on lonely afternoon I chanced upon Titus, a surreal adaptation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus staring Anthony Hopkins as the unfortunate Roman general. The storyline does not deviate much from the original. But Julie Taymor, better known for her biographical Frida, has taken more than a few anachronistic liberties with the sets and costumes. Swords, crossbows, 18th century pistols and modern machine guns work together to bring about some of the violence. The military uniforms are like something left over from a World War II movie. The emperor and senators look like they’ve stepped out of Star Trek. The humor is dark with a generous helping of irony and cynicism. Titus is a refreshingly different twist to an old tale and definitely worth watching.

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